When Mike Tomlin was hired by the Steelers in 2007, he became the team’s third head coach since 1969 and his two predecessors had set a high bar for success in Pittsburgh.
Tomlin proved to be a good fit with the expectations established by Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. Monday night’s win over the Bears was the 150th regular season win of Tomlin’s career, which made him the 20th man to reach that milestone and broke a tie with Cowher and moved Tomlin into sole possession of second place in franchise history. Noll won 193 games over 23 seasons and Tomlin is in his 15th season with the club.
“Man, I’m just appreciative of the standards set by those that have come before me,” Tomlin said, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “All of us are here. That standard, man, is inspirational for us. It inspires us, challenges us. I’m just thankful to be part of this thing that is the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I work to do my job to uphold the standard.”
Don Shula, George Halas, and Curly Lambeau are the only coaches to reach the 150-win plateau faster than Tomlin while Bill Belichick and Andy Reid are the only active coaches who have won more games over their careers.